Lawmakers quickly disposed Thursday of a proposal to legalize sports betting in Hawaii, with the House Judiciary chairman announcing he would rewrite the bill to create a task force to study the issue.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Chris Lee said House Bill 1107 generated “considerable conflicting testimony as well as concerns being raised by the committee,” which prompted him to revise the measure.
“For my part, because it’s clear that there is illicit gambling going on whether we like it or not in the day of the internet, in this modern age, so I wanted to have a discussion with some of the stakeholders about this,” said Lee (D, Kailua- Lanikai-Waimanalo).
Hawaii is one of only two states that has no form of legalized gambling, but Lee has said the state should look at the issue again now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the states can legalize sports betting if they choose.
In the meantime, sports betting and other forms of gambling are readily available to Hawaii residents online.
HB 1107 was introduced by state Rep. Chris Todd and would create a sports wagering corporation to regulate sports gambling in Hawaii. Profits from the corporation would be deposited into a special fund, and that money would be used for state construction and maintenance projects.
Gov. David Ige opposes legalized gambling, and the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism said in written testimony that “legalizing gambling in any form puts at risk the values that make Hawaii the Aloha State. Specifically, there are too many unintended social and economic impacts that may outweigh the perceived benefits.”
The Honolulu Police Department also opposed the bill, arguing that “numerous studies have confirmed that gambling causes problems such as theft, embezzlement, suicide, child abuse and neglect, divorce, incarceration and homelessness.”
The revised bill creating a task force to study sports betting will now go to the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee for further consideration.
